JFSOCC

Your party has set down at a fine establishment after a long day of travel. You're exhausted, and in need of some good entertainment and some solid food. The troupe does OK, but its nothing special. The musicians take a break. A man walks on stage, suddenly it's getting quieter. In a flourish, the lights are somewhat dimmed. the last voices are stilled. The man's voice is soft, yet it reaches the ears all the way in the back "On my honour as a man," the ritualistic words begin "I swear this tale is true" "It was not too long ago, in Dyrwood, that I came across a man..." When the tale finishes, you're almost astounded to find yourself at a table, your food is cold, untouched, and your head is full with questions. But when you try to find the man who held his audience rapt attention, he's gone. The innkeep smiles "He'll be back sometime. He pays a silver for any story he hasn't heard before." The Hakawati are storytellers. They travel the world, and they seek more stories to tell. They love myth, fables, epics, poetry and jokes but mostly, they love true stories. Expert story tellers, they've got an ear for the interesting ones. They seem nomadic, but do have a base of power, unbeknownst to most. (a fairly secluded mansion in the middle of Big Big city 2, walled and only accessible by those wearing the Hakawati uniform and knowing the codes.) You see, the Hakawati might go out to tell and seek stories, to serve as biographers and scribes, as bards and entertainers, but they always come back home And they commit their stories to paper as they were committed to memory. And they know many secrets. An offshoot of the Church of Hocard They are led by a mysterious figure (yay) Who uses the vast knowledge of the true tales to further her own power. She's known as the talespinster. And she uses the tales her cult learn, to stir people to action, character assassinate powerful politicians, to mock and destroy them in the eyes of the public. But also to build tragic heroes. Or move public opinion. She does this to help those in power she believes are more deserving of it. And while she entertains the masses, she subtly influences them. Making some lords unpopular, while boosting others. And she NEVER uses lies. On her honour, all tales are true. Her Hakawati serve as her agents, as her spies. Because if someone has a tale to tell, a Hakawati will listen. And people love to tell Hakawati their tales. And so these storytellers get to be privy to all the dirty court intrigue, the rumour mill of the commoners, the windfalls of entrepreneurs, the life story of scouts and soldiers and officials and whatever secrets they didn't realise were valuable. And so her library of tales grows, filled with trade secrets, personal secrets, political intrigue, business opportunities, a criminal database, a database filled with useful people. And since no-one knows the true nature of the Hakawati, not even the lower ranked Hakawati themselves, they remain loved for the services they provide. As scribes, as entertainers, as biographers, as rumourmongers. They keep doing their work, and the right things happen. A player will encounter the Hakawati when they have an interesting tale to tell, which the Hakawati are eager for, or when a story or rumour the Hakawati tell leads the party to a quest (which the Hakawati might have orders to move someone to do) and then back for more potentially rewarding rumours. Or if the player wishes to join or are asked to join the faction, which will require some impressive speech skills. It is unlikely the player will ever encounter the talespinster directly or learn of her ultimate designs (though maybe in the sequel)

Cornerstalker A Cornerstalker is one of those creatures which will bother you even long after you've defeated them. The Cornerstalker is only found indoors, and, as the name implies, in the corner. It is a cloaked creature, hard but not impossible to see, which will attack the weakest member of your party, or the one with the lowest defence (that it can observe) striking unexpected (except when you pass a difficult spot check) with cold attacks. The moment it is stricken with damage by any of your party members, it disappears. You never know if you've defeated the Cornerstalker, you never know how much health it has left. After it disappears, it will focus on the member which has first damaged it, forever or until it dies. Every time your party is indoors, every time it's in a dark hallway, every time it opens a door and doesn't look around well, there's a chance the Cornerstalker might be there, carrying its grudge. And it will continue to strike ad infinitum until it dies. How it follows the party is unknown, it is presumed it stalks them (hence the other part of the name.) A party may not have encountered the Cornerstalker for weeks out in the wild, and then all of a sudden, is beset by it again. A Cornerstalker may also attack the party whenever it is resting indoors. Normally an unpleasant nuisance, when your party has a weak member and doesn't pay attention, or when your party finds itself in combat indoors, the addition of the Cornerstalker might just be ruinous enough to fill a party with dread. Especially since the party will never, ever ever find out if they're finally rid of the creature. (although not being attacked by it for a long time might be a clue) When it dies, it vanishes, as if it was never there. Whenever it vanishes, whether it's dead or not, it leaves behind a stone, it's suspected that it teleports by dropping the stone. The stone can be considered loot. (precious) For the player (not character) who pays attention, there's a slight auditory sign signalling the presence of the Cornerstalker, sort of like a rush of wind combined with a drop of water. It's very faint and easily missed, but might just warn you enough to prepare. The player encounters the Cornerstalker sometime early in the game, during the exploration of a dungeon or dark building. The Creature is likely to keep bothering the party till the latter part of the mid-game. It doest regenerate health between encounters, but it has fairly low health and almost no defence, meaning that eventually the party will have weapons powerful enough to defeat it. so it can be killed.

Please dear Afochion just kill this discussion with fire.

Alright then. Afochion, God of Decay, death and renewal The Cleansing Fire, Bringer of Flood, The Scourge of Time, Rot. All things perish. it might take a long time, but ultimately nothing but our souls are eternal. Savannahs dry out and become deserts, Mountains are worn down by wind and water, swamps dry out and become forests. Everything changes Empires rise and fall. Everything changes Great buildings are constructed, temples complexes, food for future archaeologists. And in the middle of this stands Afochion. the Scourge of Time. Afochion has been a god before we named him. And he is mostly hated by mankind, because he spells the end of everything. Though those with wisdom realise he's also a god of renewal, of new opportunities, of change. Temples of Afochion are rare, they're found in the most changeable places, the sand dunes of a desert, the delta of a great river, the marches. There's even a great temple complex of tied together boats creating an every changing modular island on sea. Sometimes a storm destroys part of the temple complex, and it gets rebuilt in a new shape, with new boats. Afochion is the god of decay, stories of vampirism are told of his clergy, but these are patently false. Vampires would be anathema to the clergy of Afochion, for they attempt to defeat the forces of change and decay. Followers of Afochion are required to destroy any undead wherever they find them. The High priest of Afochion can decree at any time that the time has come for an organisation, and empire or a place to fall. This means holy war until the place is in ashes. It has occurred only five times during the two thousand years of worship of Afochion. And only when empires where at their most corrupt, most stale. when growth seemed impossible. When innovation was stifled. Often right at the apex of their power. Of late, the Church of Afochion has been fairly quiet. It is a time of great change, of great boom, and their services are rarely desired or required. The Church follows a fairly esoteric belief, which means they are mostly found on the fringes of society, or in the cesspools of decay. The association with these dead or dying places, the fairly poor state of these temples (at first sight) have made the church of Afochion a reviled and marginalised religion. But everything decays, and everything dies. And the church is unconcerned. What the church teaches is that sometimes, something needs to perish for growth to be possible. The festival of Achion involves burning fallow lands, sowing ash, and killing diseased sacrificial animals. And anyone wise enough to pay attention, would notice the great boost to land productivity, the great improvement of health of the remaining herd, and the great influx of new ideas, which comes from this death and renewal ceremony, Unfortunately, of late, few are wise enough. The Church doctrine has no requirement for teaching others, no form of evangelising and so the church seems to be in a state of decay itself. But once in a while, a monk will be found setting fire to the slums, killing a politically conservative official, or otherwise hastening the demise of people or places. Someone paying attention would find that this only happens to things and people most resistant to change one way or the other. But most people don't pay attention, and so the negative reputation of Afochion increases. He doesn't care. all things decay, all things die. only souls are eternal. People pray to Afochion when they are desperate and the only way out of some mess seems to be the restorative power of a cleansing fire. When faced with a corrupt unending tyranny. Or wishing others generally ill, though those prayers are mostly unanswered. For outsiders the most obvious symbol of the church is a broken pillar, followers use growing grass, burned grass, ash and dead grass as symbols as well, with each a separate meaning. Growing grass in front of a home of a follower says "This place is growing, and needs our attention not" ash says "This place has seen recent change, worry not" dead grass says "this place is decaying naturally, worry not" and burned grass says "This place needs our attention, neither growth nor decay is found here, this place resists change" beware of burned grass. because the followers of Afochion usually act here. Afochion himself rarely walks the land. When he does, things around him start dying quickly everything ages, rots, rusts, and fades. Andif you pay attention, you'd see that after that, the location blooms with new life, ideas, and construction. But again, most people don't see anything which requires them to look longer than an instant. Mankind is quick to judge, and Afochion is mostly dismissed as a force for evil.

You must live in some alternate universe LadyCrimson, because I too find Steam's offline mode strikingly unreliable. Eventually I've just given up trying to do things in offline mode.

lol, there's a time limit to editing posts.

well it make it a strategical choice whether you try to maintain your defences well, or cast offensive spells, at the risk of losing some of those buffs. I think it might actually help the strategy of combat, and also make a fully buffed enemy boss stop being unbeatable, as buffed wizards kind of had a tendency to be.

I hope that, unlike other IE games, books are actually considered to be valuable, because, no printing press, low literacy, knowledge is power. I went to the Dutch book museum in the Hague once, I was told that the cost for making a book was about equal to what would today buy you a villa.

Well, that's almost no armour. I do desire some protection, after all. And it's also very makeshift. I wonder if there's some exquisite light armour to be found

That is the only part I dislike, because it's too overpowered. Otherwise, cool

I must be crazy with the few funds I have, but there you go, I paid the 8$ So I can give myself an appropriately posh title. ...give me a day, I'll come up with something cool.

Dentist today, uninsured for that, so, that's 60 bucks for a consult about about 150 Monday when my cavity gets filled. Yay.

I've recently learned of the awesome musical genius that is Bobby McFerrin http://www.wimp.com/bobbymcferrin/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfIYYbRin0

So I've skimmed 3 threads looking at all the pretty pictures. I've got the following to add/ask. 1. Why no love for Falcatas? These are awesome shield arm tendon cutting weapons! 2. And I also see a lack of love of batons, sticks, small maces, Juttes and other, stick like weapons, which, tbh, can be incredibly powerful 3. Lastly, could anyone find examples of good light weight armour, light armour, armour you could reasonably hide? Not everyone walks around town like a medieval knight. some of us prefer... a little more low-key. Yet would still enjoy effective (and pretty) protection

The smiths guild Goldsmiths, blacksmiths, armour smiths, weapon smiths, foundries, all of them are likely to be member of the smiths guild. The guild protects its members by setting standards of quality and pay, by insuring members against fire, by stockpiling resources to hold the members over during times of scarcity, by cataloguing knowledge, by finding apprentices for masters and journeymen, and finding masters and journeymen for would be apprentices. And by sharing large orders, so the orders can be filled faster, and work can be shared amongst members. Which is especially useful if a minor lordling suddenly decides to outfit his entire little army, or the Clergy of Hezeng founds a new port city and needs a large amount of work done. Yes, in a world of craftsmen, guilds make sense. Entrance into the guild is fairly easy: if you practise any kind of smithing you better pay the fee and join. If you wish to apprentice your second son, you can present him at the guild-hall. The guild has the ear of the local rulers, and works as a union for the smiths. Membership is divided into parts: Members (further divided into Apprentice, Journeyman, Master, Grandmaster-which holds automatic promotion to upper council member) guild's upper council, all grandmasters, every member with at least twenty journeymen working for him, and members of excellence, which is basically a reward for meritorious deeds done for the guild, rarely given out, and sometimes political in nature. And lastly, there's the guild's administration. The administrators don't hold any vote and are just employees running the day to day affairs of the organisation. Although the lead administrator holds a council seat. Apprenticeships last about four years, after which an apprentice has to demonstrate his abilities with an apprentice piece, after which he is promoted to journeyman Journeymen are allowed to set up their own business, or continue working for a master. In order to become a master, you're expected to have worked for at least fifteen years (exceptions are made) have your own business establishment, and employ at least five journeymen and two apprentices at any given time. A master can become a grandmaster by making a masterpiece. A masterpiece demonstrates not only his exceptional abilities, but is expected to be something special, something which furthers the trade by offering new invention, new application, and exceptional quality. (such as a new firing method for steel) Some Grandmasters hardly work anymore, as it is a title for life, and comes with a guild-paid pension(basically tenure) Amongst these is a grandmasters is a weaponsmith who has an eye for those exceptionally bright souls who can create their own identity weapons. He cultivates them for his own pleasure, and because he appreciates skill. It is a rare honour to be trained by this grandmaster.

Defacer Claw dagger Does Acid/slashing damage On hit 22% chance of 1 permanent charisma damage On hit 22% chance of 1 permanent intelligence damage Used by the same Cabal which employs the Madness Assassin The Defacer is designed specifically to ruin the political career of anyone lucky enough to survive the Cabal's attempt on their life. If you can't make your opponents dead, at least you can make them ugly and stupid.

Wizards are good at everything At least that's what they believe. Some of these wizards have chosen to employ their vast skill in a mercenary way. They are assassins. The Cabal of Borders is a powerful organisation, whose goal is to keep any political powerhouse in check, weak, resentful of their opponents, and angry. Because angry, weak, and ambitious men and women make for the best customers. While the group has their own goals, the assassination business funds much of their work, and it has become the main source of power and revenue for an organisation controlled by wizards who, ultimately, only see it as a means to an end. But the world's population is growing, new lands are constantly being discovered, and organisations of all kinds are racing to claim them. And that inevitably leads to conflict. And conflict is the Cabal of Borders' business. The Clergy of Hezeng wishes to rule a trade port currently under the administration of the clergy of Hocard? The Cabal might be contacted The Ring of the Fierce is tired of the encroaching Church of Ladamo? The Cabal is willing to help As long as no-one wins, the Cabal wins, and so they only accept destabilising work, though obviously this is not something they advertise. The Cabal recruits capable assassins, people of all walks of life, to do the dirty work. The Cabal wishes to infiltrate most organisations, because work is much much easier if you already have someone in place when a contract comes. More importantly, it's one of the ways the organisation learns of job opportunities, while remaining in the shadows themselves. Payment is up front, there's no promise of success, and there is never to be any contact between the parties except through intermediaries and anonymous communications. In a nondescript basement, locked by many mechanisms, the Cabal has their weapon of last resort, rarely used, it's a monster of their creation called the Madness Assassin They don't like to use it, more often than not it's more trouble than it's worth. But... For the right price...

A list of Dramatis Personae you've met and where you can find them placed in a section of your journal.

Btw, many of the posts in the "Design a god for PE" thread would also constitute a faction. If there's a demand for it, I will post some of those here.

There's no law against anyone killing themselves. or risking their life voluntarily. And there's more idiots than we need anyway. So why not make a buck of off them? Unregulated by the Church of Ladamo, the ring of the fierce is an organisation which thrives on voluntary bloodsport. They have four arenas in which anyone can join and try their luck in fights to first blood, fights till someone gives up, and, most profitable of all, fights to the death. There's single combat, there's tag team combat, there's team combat, there's free for all, and all of it for the entertainment of a bloodthirsty and most importantly, paying crowd. Anyone can join, though the entry fee is designed to scare of the weak and the desperate, around this a criminal enterprise has arisen to provide the entry fee to the desperate souls, in order for part of the winnings. More 'Athletes' are indebted to the thieves guild than participate on their own merit. Slave owners have been known to enter their slaves into the fights. the "to the death" part would discourage match-fixing, except that some entrants are truly desperate to save their families, so even match fixing occurs. It doesn't matter, "the crowd goes wild" and money keeps flowing. Participation has a few rules. Don't leave town while you're still in the race. A contract lasts for five fights, almost no-one lasts more than eight fights, though a few well organised teams are currently standing on fifteen. And only rely on your own skill and weapons. Failure to kill an opponent in a deathmatch when he's defeated incurs a steep penalty from management. Participants get free food and accommodation around the ring. And the popular gladiators are encouraged to go to certain establishments, where their presence attracts fans who eagerly will buy them a next round. Not appearing for a fight will incur a penalty so steep that only an idiot will think of crossing The Ring of the Fierce. Any person winning ten fights gets a Fierce token for which they can come and go to the arena and its related establishments for free, and always get a spot in a fight if they so choose. Such a token will come with a fair bit of reputation as well. While the church of Ladamo is currently not in control, they are trying to get a foothold in the business, and they're either trying to sabotage, stop or overtake the organisation Some find the practise barbaric, but it's hard to argue with the revenue The Ring of the Fierce makes, and smaller arena's have been cropping up across the land, and find themselves quickly under the "protection" of the RotF. In time they might find themselves the victims of their own success, but for now, times are good. The Ring of the Fierce does hire guards, bouncers, bodyguards, scouts and recruiters, and they maintain an understanding with local organised crime, allowing free access to 'evaluators' who come to check out the fighters and calculate the odds. In return, the RotF gets part of the proceeds. It's a mutually beneficent business arrangement: The RotF doesn't get into an expensive fight with organised crime, and together they make a strong fist against any working against their interest. The player might encounter the Rotf as a participant in one of their arenas, work for the organisation collecting debts, finding recruits, or investigating foul play, or as a member of the organised crime, checking out the fighters, fixing matches, poisoning athletes, breaking bones, sabotaging the church of Ladamo. Or as a member of the Church of Ladamo, sabotaging the fights, coercing or persuading officials to install the church as arbiter of either the gambling, the refereeing, or the entire practise.

How about this: Buffs would require concentration to maintain, depending on the skill (level) of your mage he can maintain more buff spells. As long as there is nothing to distract him, he can maintain these indefinitely. However, when in combat, if he needs to cast a spell, (or even put up another buff) OR if he is attacked or attacking, everytime he casts, attacks or defends, there's an X% chance of a buff failing. This % grows the more buffs are maintained until it's practically impossible to hold on to them. that way, you can walk around will all your buffs pre-cast, pretty much as long as you want it, but during combat you'll have to make choices. And time no longer becomes a factor.

If you were supposed to kill three things and only killed two, then you didn't do what you were supposed to. so why would you deserve a reward? Besides you could always come back and kill the last one.

For continued inspiration along the lines of threads like "Design a God for PE", "Design a Monster", "magic weapons in PE" and "creatures in PE" I thought it might be fun to share our ideas for a faction or organisation in PE. Guidelines: Mention the Name of the organisation, some of its history, its goals and practises, and how the player might encounter the faction ingame. I'll start. ------------- The Skywatchers The Skywatchers is a cult of monks seeking portends and omens in the clouds. Many years ago, let's say lost in time, a monk of great wisdom and power was meditating in the clouded mountains. It was during this trance that he noticed a story transpire in the clouds. A great and ancient battle was slowly wafting past him. Naturally he mentioned this when next he came down for resupply. And naturally he was ridiculed and hounded for it. Returning to his perch he tried to see what he saw before. But nothing came. Rather than dismiss it as a moment of madness, he kept at it, until eventually in trance, he saw another story A knight galloping across a field of flames. It was a different story, out of another time. Over time, he began to attune his senses to the clouds And when eventually he came down, he declared "Tomorrow this kingdom will end" suffice it to say that he was right, and he was ignored no more. It was from then that the cult of Skywatchers was founded, they are found on high purchases and in open fields, watching. Most of the time nothing much happens. They might chuckle at an amusing cloud story or shed a tear at an ancient drama being displayed in the sky. but occasionally, rarely, the clouds are prophetic, and the sky-watchers move. They meet annually and freely share what they've learned, and record it vigorously. Every tale, every event, and every portend. And they then seek out those whom they believe it applies to, in order to inform them. Ever esoteric, they're mostly left alone and ignored. A farmer in a field will be wise enough to plow around the madman lying in his field staring at the sky, day and night, and in the rain, and even on a mostly cloudless day. Some of the Skywatchers find it more convenient to hermitage(?) themselves. One of the wealthier students has built an observatory and imaging implements to record the shapes. Mostly the Skywatchers are valued for their contributions outside their more bizarre habits; Expert meteorologists, bird and insect experts, astronomers, and story tellers, the Skywatchers have plenty of time to develop these other skills for which they are known. And while they are useless most of the time, they contribute enough to maintain their standing as eccentric, but learned men. The player might encounter a Skywatcher out on his travels, looking up and mumbling incoherently "I already know that one", may consult one for information about a local insect plague or what lovely weather it is, or a crackpot might come at the player and tell him He's the long lost heir to lord mcfuddlysomethingskinstonderpson. Colourful characters, the most interesting time to encounter them is on their annual meeting, in a beautiful open air observatory built by one of the wealthier members, where they have debates on varying topics and, as the evening wears on and they get drunk, the unfairness of being such unappreciated geniuses.

There's a site which could serve as horror inspiration. some of these are quite scary. http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-series